The New Goat Champion

streetgourmetla has completed another one of his exhaustive, Los Angeles–spanning mega-surveys. This time, he and his team visited five beloved joints specializing in birria di chivo.

This is a specialty of Jalisco and the central states of Mexico: a goat, roasted in a pot or in the oven, with the drippings turned into consommé. "It can be stewed as well, but the roasted goat is a more intense experience. There's nothing like walking into a bunch of birrierias like the famed Las 9 Esquinas in Guadalajara, or outside the mercados in Zacatecas completely surrounded by the seductive aromas of slow roasted goat and cumin," explains streetgourmetla.

The top joint, by overall consensus, is Birrieria Tepeque. "As soon as I walked in to this place, the haunting aromas of goat, and that familiar sense that we were in the right place set in," says streetgourmetla. Tepeque cooks in the style of Apatzingán, Michoacán, and stews its birria. "Their dedication and cooking are stellar," says streetgourmetla. "The consommé was balanced and packed with flavor. All natural and all good. The special salsa of pure dried chiles and oil elicited ooos and ahhhs all 'round our table."

The lovely goat flavors slowly trigger the pleasure sensors, says streetgourmetla. Best of all is the goat ribs. "This was a goat taste, quality, and polish that retained an edge over all the other birrierias that day."